The Sweater
by Luelle Laurence
Summary: Clarissa and George still have something...but can they find it before Clarissa get's married?
1. Chapter 1

Ch. 1  
  
"So George, who was your first love?" Dean Thomas asked on a particularly rainy day in Diagon Alley. George looked up from the inventory list he was studying.  
  
"Er..." George, who was now twenty-one remembered back to his fifth year at Hogwarts, "Clarissa, Clarissa Cirqueau." George said quietly, ever since they had broken up in their seventh year, George had missed Clarissa. It was basically his fault that they broke up, he, who thought that there had to be other girls out there, but the truth was, there wasn't, and he could still remember Clarissa's hurt face after he had broke the news.  
  
"Clarissa Cirqueau??" Angelina Johnson, Fred's girlfriend piped up.  
  
"Yep," George continued studying the inventory list to Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, the shop he and Fred owned together.  
  
"Oh," Angelina said quietly, as she accioed a Canary Crème Box to a display and started putting them up. "I heard she was engaged."  
  
George looked up from his inventory at this, surprised. The last he had hear of Clarissa, she was working diligently at the Ministry of Magic. "Really? To who?" he questioned.  
  
"Er, I think his name's James Bristow...not sure. All I know is he's a big shot in the Ministry." Angelina said, continuing putting Canary Crèmes on the shelves.  
  
"Oh," George said thoughtfully, remembering Clarissa's tear stained face after they had broken up. Clarissa had been really hurt; everyone knew that, she didn't come out of her Dorm for ages.  
  
"Yeah," Angelina said as she went back into the inventory room.  
  
Dean, who had become very interested in a sign that featured an advertisement for portable swamps for a short moment, piped up after his silence. "Blimey, Mate." Dean said "I remember when you two went out, Clarissa was real likable."  
  
"Yeah," George said thoughtfully, adding a few numbers on the inventory list. "I'm gonna go pick up lunch, be back soon."  
  
---  
  
Clarissa sat in her bedroom at her London Flat, which overlooked Diagon Alley, preparing to go down stairs to meet James, for lunch. Clarissa had changed twice, and finally had decided she was going to just wear her red cardigan instead, if she could find it. Clarissa opened up her drawer to her dresser and put her previous, blue cardigan back, and continued looking for her red jumper, and pulled out what she had thought was...but it wasn't.  
  
She didn't know why she had kept his sweater, after they had broken up in her seventh year at Hogwarts, she had thrown away everything from their relationship. Except this. Clarissa unfolded it gingerly, and stared at it. It was about three sizes too big, but that hadn't kept her from wearing it as they went out. After a while, George had forgotten she even had it, even though she wore it often. She loved how worn and warm it felt, but, Clarissa, no longer a girl dawdling at Hogwarts, she stared at it like it was a ghost of her past. Clarissa though, wasn't ready to put it in the bin, she put the sweater back in it's drawer and stared at it for a moment, before giving up her search for her red cardigan and choosing her yellow one instead, and left the room.  
  
Clarissa went down the steps of her flat down to the sitting area, where James was waiting patiently. James saw her and grinned, getting up; he walked over to her and gave her a hug, kissing her cheek. Clarissa forced a weak smile at James' embrace, but she was still thinking about George.  
  
"Shall we go then?" James asked his fiancé lovingly, while grinning.  
  
"Sure," Clarissa said, forcing a smile out, "Where are we going?"  
  
"Some new eatery called Madam Louisa's? Some people from the ministry said it was good, suggested their turkey sandwich." James told her, kissing her cheek again  
  
"Oh well that sounds nice," Clarissa smiled and pulled on her cloak, her engagement ring diamond glistening. 


	2. Chapter 2

Ch 2  
  
"Yeah, that'll be four turkey sandwiches," George told the plump, rosy cheeked lady behind the register at Madam Louisa's Eatery.  
  
"That will be, 8 sickles, dear." the old lady said cheerfully  
  
George put the money down on the counter wordlessly and turned to sit down at a small table. He brushed his bangs out of his face and watched as couples came in and out of the eatery. George pushed the other three sandwiches aside and took a bite out of his own; he continued watching as people entered and left. He almost spit out the bite he was chewing on when he saw a very familiar person and a not so familiar person with his arm wrapped around her shoulder, she had her own hand in the one the man had around her shoulder, revealing a rather large engagement ring, and she was smiling happily at whatever the man had just whispered in her ear.  
  
George watched open mouthed as the girl looked around the quaint eatery, grinning at something the man had just said. George got up and quickly, discarding his own sandwich and grabbing the others, pulling his cloak on and heading toward the exit.  
  
_Please don't see me_  
  
He thought as he went toward the door, trying to avoid the girl's glance at all causes. George noticed the two sit down at a table smack dab right by the exit. George caught his breath and went to the door, and saw her eyes lingering on him, her mouth open in surprise or disgust...he didn't know.  
  
_Don't call my name, don't call my name_  
  
George thought, hoping it could reach her ears some how, he hurried out the door and practically ran back to the joke shop, where Lee, Fred and Angelina were discussing an upcoming Chudley Cannon's quidditch match.  
  
"Blimey, what took you so long?" Fred asked, grabbing a sandwich from George  
  
"Er...sorry, got a bit...erm...lost."  
  
"George, you've been to the Eatery dozens of times" Angelina argued, grabbing her sandwich as well.  
  
"Er...yeah." George muttered, handing the last sandwich to Lee and heading to his room above the store.  
  
I can't believe I saw her  
  
George told himself as he sat on his bed, fiddling with his duvet cover.  
  
And with someone else  
  
He repeated in his head  
  
She's gone, and did you see that bloody rock on her finger...  
  
George asked himself, head in hands, remembering Clarissa smiling up at him when they would stand together at the lake, when she whispered things in his ears, grinning as they picked out things from Zonko's together...it all seemed so far away now.  
  
And how he missed it. How could he not? Clarissa was the first one George had loved and the first one he had ever told he loved, and the first one he had ever made love to.  
  
They were both fifteen at the time, and had been going out for months. And Clarissa had finally gotten the courage up to tell him she loved him, it was right after they had gone swimming together at the lake. George had done a simple warming charm to the lake, and it was perfect for swimming, even if it was December. They both went back to the Gryffindor Tower, and shared a few innocent kisses, before he had asked her. His heart was beating so loudly, he was positive the whole village of Hogsmeade could hear it. She, who had also been a first timer, answered quietly, but sure of her choice. It had been perfect, in every aspect, except the tears Clarissa had shed after ward. She had told him they were happy tears, and George had believed her.  
  
Clarissa had been a great first love  
  
George told himself, looking into the mirror that was placed directly in front of his bed. But times had changed since then, and George no longer stole Clarissa's heart. He had broken it in a thousand little pieces, George could tell by the look on Clarissa's face the night he broke up with her. She had sat there, on George's bed, crying, and didn't say anything for a while. Clarissa's eyes were tear-stained, and blood shot, and she had left the boy's dorm room wordlessly. And that's how their relationship had ended. Shortly afterward, George and Fred left Hogwarts all together, and he never saw Clarissa again.  
  
Until that day.  
  
---  
  
Clarissa sat, open mouthed, watching George's back go out the door. She popped back into focus, as James asked her what she wanted to drink.  
  
"Er... water will be fine, thanks." She said, fiddling with a button on her cardigan.  
  
"You okay?" James asked, worriedly.  
  
"Yeah, I'm fine." Clarissa said absentmindedly, pretending to study her menu.  
  
"You look dazed...you sure you're okay?" James asked, his dark green eyes looking concerned, putting his hand over in hers.  
  
Clarissa, who was surprised at the touch of James' hand in hers, quickly reflexed and pulled her hand away thoughtlessly and put it in her lap and smiled weakly "Oh, I'm fine, you're such a worry-wart James." she quickly changed the subject, "Oh these soups sound amazing."  
  
James sighed and answered reluctantly "You sure you don't want a sandwich instead? You eat like a bird," James started before Clarissa cut him off.  
  
"Ah, I'm just not really hungry today. Besides...I'm not in the mood for a sandwich." She grinned and told to waiter who had just come up, "The number four soup with extra crackers" and continued her conversation with James "What do you want to do tonight?" Clarissa asked "We could go Christmas Gift shopping or something." Clarissa smiled  
  
"Oh damn, did I forget to tell you?" James started "Tonight I have Night Duty at the Ministry."  
  
Clarissa sighed "Aww, not again James, you had night duty last weekend too."  
  
"I know, but they're really breaking down on the Aurors to get this new section of the ministry up-- we have to do all these enchantments and such to make sure it's completely un-foolable." James said, sipping his coffee.  
  
James, who was an Auror, worked at the Ministry seven days a week, and sometimes night duty. Like tonight. James' enjoyed his work, but you could tell it was starting to take a toll on him at points. His eyes, that used to sparkle, had become worrisome about various things. Clarissa figured that once they got married, this would go away, because they would be able to start a family, and maybe James would have some new-found happiness. He was the complete opposite of George, he was good to her of course, but never really had that 'spark' like she got from George. But, she loved James, with or without the spark. They had dated breifly in Clarissa's fourth year, when he was a seventh year, but had broken up with her when he left Hogwarts. Then Clarissa got together with George, but after they broke up, shortly after, she met back up with James at a Christmas party her parents were holding in their Manor, James and Clarissa immediately clicked, and after 4 years of dating, he finally proposed, and Clarissa said yes.  
  
Clarissa sighed "Oh well, I have a huge report to do tonight anyway" she said, taking a rather large sip of her water.  
  
"That's the fourth report in the past two weeks!" James said surprised  
  
"Well, International Magical Communications isn't exactly light work, James. The only reason why they moved me up from British Muggle Communications is because I speak fluent French, and am able to communicate easily with the Veelas, not to mention I can translate as well." Clarissa said half heartedly as her soup came, she took a bite. "Besides--I enjoy my job, even if I have to write four reports in a span of two weeks."  
  
"Suppose you're right, I just think they're over working you-- especially with the wedding coming up so soon and everything."  
  
"Three months," Clarissa forced a smile and grasped James' hand "Speaking of weddings, you need to write out all the people you want to invite, Mum reminded me last night."  
  
"Oh right," James said, giving her a peck on the cheek and then taking a bite out of his sandwich.  
  
After discussing together about various topics in the Ministry, they departed, Clarissa back to her load of work at her flat, and James to the ministry. Clarissa passed Weasley Wizard Wheezes without even thinking and stopped at the local market for a few groceries and headed back to her flat, to her pile of work, that was waiting for her on her desk. She set to work, and after a good 2 hours, there was a knock on the door. Clarissa checked the clock  
  
_8:30...James can't be back yet..._  
  
She went to the door, to see a familiar red head waiting there.  
  
_George?! No...that's Fred._  
  
Clarissa looked at Fred surprised, before inviting him in "Er...Hey Fred."  
  
"Hello Clarissa," He said, grinning "I was just in the neighborhood--figured I'd stop by to say hello." Fred said, nonchalantly  
  
"Well, that's nice. I haven't seen you since you and--since you left Hogwarts." Clarissa finished.  
  
"Yeah," Fred said smiling, eyeing Clarissa's engagement ring.  
  
"So what have you been doing lately? I heard about your joke shop--would you care for some tea?"  
  
"Sure, that'd be great. Well, George and me have been running Weasley Wizard Wheezes..like you heard, since we left Hogwarts, it's really booming."  
  
Clarissa smiled and accioed the tea pot from the Kitchen "That's nice, are you and Angelina still together?--Sugar? Milk?"  
  
Fred accepted the tea "Sugar. Yes we're still together-- she helps out at the shop a lot. Who'd you get that rock from?" Fred asked, cutting to the chase.  
  
"Oh...my fiancé...James...We've been engaged for over a year." she said uncomfortably, turning the ring around self-consciously and biting her lip and saying in a small voice "How is he--George I mean."  
  
"He's good, he dated Katie for a while, but-- I think he misses you, Riss." Fred said.  
  
"Oh, well it's sorta late for that, isn't it? Seeing as how I'm getting married in March!" Clarissa said, a pitch above her normal, calm tone. "Sorry Fred."  
  
"It's okay," Fred said quietly, sipping his tea.  
  
"It's just, after we broke up and I started working at the ministry, I kept thinking-- we're going to get back together, it's just a matter of time--but, when it never happened, James and I got together, and, and well, I thought George and I were a thing of the past."  
  
"Well," Fred said, studying his hands "I should go, they'll be needing me at the store soon...see you later, Clarissa."  
  
Fred stood and pulled his cloak over a sweater that greatly resembled Georges...It made Clarissa's heart swell. Fred walked to the door and Clarissa pulled a stray hair behind her ear.  
  
"You know...I saw him today, at that Madam Lu-- something place." Clarissa said, shifting her weight and biting her lip.  
  
"That's probably why he was so distant after he came back from lunch today" Fred said as he went out the door, "Hey Riss, come to the shop sometime. See you later."  
  
He had left before Clarissa could even answer. 


	3. Chapter 3

Ch 3

Two months had passed since Clarissa had seen George at the eatery--and she still couldn't get it off her mind, she kept getting flash backs of his face, which was now slightly thinner now, more so then his Hogwarts days, his copper hair, which was still as messy as it had been when they had loved each other.

Clarissa pushed a stray hair out of her face and sighed, _why was she still thinking about him? _She was getting married in less than two weeks, to the man she loved; she should be having dreams about James...not George.

"Clarissa--Into focused dear, now do you want the satin napkins or not?" Marie Cirqueau asked her daughter impatiently. They were making last minute additions to Clarissa and James' Wedding Gift Wish list.

"Er...no, they're a bit tacky, Mum." Clarissa said thoughtlessly without even looking at the ornate napkins. She picked up a fairy that was on a table with a sign above that read:

Insulting Fairy!

Give this cute little figure to your enemy and they won't know what hit them!

She held it for a moment and it spat, "Rich, silver-haired, in love with someone else bitch" before Clarissa put it down, mumbling "Well you're not as cute as you look.."

"What about the silk ones?" Clarissa's mother asked, picking up silk napkins with magical creatures stitched in, at that moment they were moving around killing each other.

"Aren't those a bit vulgar, mum?"

"Oh, why did I even come with you? All you want is plain, plain, plain. Why, you're a Cirqueau--"

"Not in two weeks, mum, I'll be a Bristow, Mrs. James Bristow."

Clarissa's mother 'hmmphed' and with an abrupt POP, she had apparated out of the store-- probably back at the Cirqueau Estate, asking her paintings of ancestors why her eldest daughter was so plain and why she didn't appreciate the good, expensive things in life. Her mother was probably sitting on the most expensive and ornate chair in the house, with light blue silk and gold threaded embroidered house crests, jabbering away to the portraits as House Elves brought her whatever she could want and more. Clarissa stifled a giggle and left the store, going out to the busy streets of Diagon Alley, she picked up a chocolate frog from a street vender and looked at the card. _Dumbledore, again._ Clarissa smiled, biting the head off the struggling frog. She took long strides to her flat; Clarissa pushed the door open and found a long box waiting on her kitchen table. She tore the wrappings away in the same manner she had tore the wrappings off her mini broomstick when she was four. She pulled the final piece of wrapping off and took the lid off, it revealed a dozen yellow roses and a small note, she opened it eagerly and it read;

_Clarissa,_

_I was just thinking of you..._

_Love,_

_James_

Clarissa grinned and brought the roses up to her nose, finally realizing how much she loved James. She sat down with another report, this time about Veela's in Germany, and worked for a good hour, changing things here and there, and when she was about halfway done, the door bell rang. She went to the door and opened it, grinning.

"Really, James, you shouldn't have with--"

Clarissa's eyes widened with surprise as she looked up. 

George

---

"Clarissa, before you shut the door in my--"

Slam.

George knocked on the door, once again, hoping she would answer.

"What in Merlin's name do you want?!" Clarissa said, in a mixture of impatience and fury, her cheeks were deep crimson.

"To talk to you-- Clarissa I need some closure in our relationship."

"You seemed to do that quite well four years ago."

"Emotional closure, Clarissa" George gave a hopeful smile "Get with the program-- Can I come in?"

Clarissa sighed "Why?"

George grinned "So I can do this," George took a step in, to where he was face to face with Clarissa and leaned in to give her a slow kiss on her lips.

Clarissa took a long step back, her face now fully red, and trying not to admit in her brain that she enjoyed it, "What. Do. You. Think. You're. Doing."

"Oh Fred said it was worth a shot..suppose not though."

"Have you been drinking out of those foul cups at the Leaky Cauldron again? Or did you not realize that the man that you saw me with two months ago was my fiancé?!"

"No, and yes. The last time Fred and I drank out of those cups, we had really bad gas-- Mum had to fix up this special potion just to get rid of it...but the stench seemed to stay in our room for the rest of the summer...or maybe that was the large dungbomb order..." George joked as Clarissa folded her arms across her chest, raising an eyebrow "And yes, I do realize you're getting married quite soon--"

"Try two and a half weeks."

"In two and a half weeks," George corrected himself, "But Clarissa I still love you, and I had to kiss you once more before you're officially Mrs. James Bristow."

"Oh is that so--"

But George had broken it off with a deep kiss, Clarissa had been taken aback, but continued kissing him back. George began unbuttoning Clarissa's shirt as Clarissa slowly pulled George's cloak off. He knew it was wrong...

But it felt, so, so, good.

---

Clarissa lay on her back, wrapped in sheets, and instead of the usual brown haired, green eyed man that usually lay there-- a freckled, copper haired, blue eyed, George lay there, fast asleep. Clarissa sighed regretfully and got up, pulling on her pajamas back on and moving to shake George awake.

"George Weasley--get up right now and leave, James could be here any second.' Clarissa walked to her window overlooking Diagon Alley. "This, this thing cannot leave this room, George. No one can know." she said gravely, feeling terrible.

"Yeah," George said, pulling on his trousers. "Next week then?"

Clarissa sneered "THIS WAS A ONE TIME THING--I'm getting married in two weeks!"

"Actually, two and a half." George started before noticing Clarissa's scowl "Alright, Alright." George pulled a sweater on over his shirt.

Clarissa's heart flipped and she went to her drawer, and there lay the sweater, in the back of her drawer. She picked it up "Here," she said, handing it to George "Take this."

"Er..." George took it and folded it under his arm.

Clarissa sighed; fighting back tears "Just, just leave."

And like those simple words, he was out the door. Clarissa sat on her unmade bed, head in hands, crying. She rethought the evening in her brain dozens of times before it really settled in. She had cheated on James. Cheated. How could she? She loved James. She didn't know--all she knew was that it was wrong. The thought lay in her head for another two days, before Clarissa finally got up the courage to tell him.

"Er...James, I need to tell you something..."

"Yes, sweetheart?" James asked, completely unaware of what Clarissa had done.

Clarissa sighed regretfully. "That...that shirt really brings out your eyes." Clarissa said, noting that the dark blue shirt really didn't bring out James' eyes.

"Thanks...Are you okay?" James asked, concerned.

"I'm..." _In love with George Weasley. _"I'm fine."


	4. Chapter 4: The Wedding

Ch 4: The Wedding

_"Clarissa, I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you." James knew down on his knee and revealed a small box from his cloak pocket, handing it to her. Clarissa took it, her arms trembling, but smiling none the less. As she opened the tiny box, her heart jumped at the sight of a beautiful ring, with a solitaire diamond. It was Clarissa's Dream ring, and James had given it to her. _

_"Will you marry me?" James asked, grinning from ear to ear at her._

_"I...I would love to." Clarissa smiled through tears in her eyes "I love you, James."_

_James stood up from his knee and cupped her face in his hands "I love you more than anything I could ever love, Clarissa." James said, taking the ring and slipping it on her finger._

---

"Really, Riss, you look gorgeous." Adele, Clarissa's younger sister told her as she buttoned the last button on the back of Clarissa's wedding gown. Annette, Clarissa's other sister, who was Adele's twin, positioned Clarissa's veil on top of her head, her mother's tiara, which had been passed down from daughter to daughter in her mothers family, was glistening against her hair. Next it would go to Annette or Adele, whoever got married first. Clarissa turned around to look at herself in the mirror in front of her. She gasped, it was perfect. Everything was perfect. Except for the deep regret that sat in the very back of her brain. She had slept with George only two weeks earlier and she felt immense regret from it. But she wasn't going to let it bring down her special day.

Marie Cirqueau came into the Bridal suite and smiled, her twin daughters standing beside her.

"Oh...Clarissa dear," her mother said, her eyes tearing up.

"Mum, don't cry, kay? Let's be...let's be happy." Clarissa smiled, reminding herself this was the day she had been planning for years, ever since she was a child, she should be happy as well, with George and her cheating on James behind her.

Annette and Adele comforted their mother as Clarissa's father walked in and came to take her hand. Her father grinned, kissing both her cheeks and looking her up and down. "Tres magnifique, Clarissa!"

Clarissa grinned "Merci beaucoup, Papa." taking her father's hand as he lead her out of the room, George Weasley officially behind her.

---

"Yeah, he was a keeper on the Ravenclaw Quidditch team...bloody brilliant." Alicia, Katie and Angelina told their respective boyfriends.

"Er..and what are we going to?" Lee asked Alicia.

"His wedding, he's marrying some French girl.." Alicia replied.

George and Katie were officially a couple, especially after Clarissa made it quite clear they were over. Alicia and Lee had been going strong for a good two years, and Angelina and Fred had been going out since their sixth year.

"So..are we aloud to go to this?" Fred asked Angelina grinning.

"Course if you want." Alicia cut in between kisses with Lee. Those two never got tired of each other.

---

"Do you, Clarissa Marie Odette Cirqueau take James Matthew Bristow to be under Magical law, to be your husband until death do you part?"

"I do." Clarissa grinned

"And do you, James Matthew Bristow, take Clarissa Marie Odette Cirqueau, under Magical law, to be you wife until death do you part?"

"I do!" James grinned, ear to ear, as everyone laughed.

"I now pronounce, under the Ministry of Magic, Mr. and Mrs. James Bristow, you may now kiss your bride."

As the crowd cheered, the two leaned in for a long kiss. And broke it off, grinning at each other as they walked together down the rose strewn path.

---

"Bloody hell, this is what I call a party." Lee Jordan exclaimed as the six walked in the all white room with yellow flowers on each table, and a large Bristow crest.

"Yeah....What was their name again?" George asked, noticing the great amount of Veelas and drooling men.

"Er..." Katie started pointing to the crest "Babe, you can't tell? Bristow. Mr. and Mrs. James Bristow."

"Er..." Fred started "Is Clarissa Cirqueau the bride?"

"I believe so, why?" Alicia questioned

George looked around, it all made since. Veelas, Bristow Crest, and it was two and a half weeks after their "meeting", this was Clarissa's and James' wedding Reception.

"And here they are, my brother and my new sister-in-law, the newlyweds Mr. and Mrs. James Bristow." Patrick Bristow said from the middle of the room, as James and Clarissa walked into the room, both grinning. George stood there, in awe. Clarissa looked beautiful and _happy._ Really happy.

"Er...I think I'm gonna go for a walk." George said absentmindedly, and left the room down to a long corridor.

---

"Clarissa, I love you so much." James said as the two waltzed around the circular dance floor, a mixture of Bristows and Cirqueaus surrounding them. Not to mention Dumbledore and other friends.

"I love you too, James."

And even though the words were so simple, for the first time that day, Clarissa really meant them. She loved James, not George. And she was going to forget about that day two and a half weeks ago, no matter what it took.

THE END.


End file.
